There are many ways suggested for keeping coffee fresh. One of the suggested methods is to put your ground coffee or coffee beans in the freezer. Is this really a good idea? Let's run through the advantages and disadvantages.
Freezing has been used for centuries as a way to extend the life of many foods. You can freeze many kinds of food. Bread, meat, fruits, vegetables and even butter can be successfully stored in your freezer. Freezing can maintain the nutrients of many types of foods, too. But storing coffee in the freezer isn't ideal.
Coffee has four main enemies against freshness: air, heat, light and moisture. It would seem that freezing won't harm coffee's freshness. However, appearances can be deceiving.
Coffee beans are roasted to enhance their flavour. The beans also have pores. A freezer may contain other foods which have odours. The other frozen foods' odours can be absorbed by the coffee beans. Flavoured coffees can be pleasant, but no one wants to drink seafood or garlic flavoured coffee.
Coffee beans can also absorb moisture. Moisture can cause deterioration and loss of flavour. Every time you take your coffee out of the freezer and pop it back in, the beans absorb moisture. If you have no other choice but to freeze your coffee, then make sure you do it only once. Taking it in and out of the freezer many times will not give you good coffee.
Freezing also breaks down the oils in the beans. The oil imparts flavour, too. When the oils are broken down, then the beans lose flavour, and what's coffee without flavour.
When it comes down to it, freezing is not the best way to store your coffee. Keep coffee stored in a cool, dry, airtight container away from light. Freezing coffee once is possible. The resulting loss of flavour and quality from repetitive freezing makes it a method of storage to stay away from. Ideally, buy your coffee in amounts that's just right for about 1 or 2 weeks. Fresh coffee is the best!
Freezing has been used for centuries as a way to extend the life of many foods. You can freeze many kinds of food. Bread, meat, fruits, vegetables and even butter can be successfully stored in your freezer. Freezing can maintain the nutrients of many types of foods, too. But storing coffee in the freezer isn't ideal.
Coffee has four main enemies against freshness: air, heat, light and moisture. It would seem that freezing won't harm coffee's freshness. However, appearances can be deceiving.
Coffee beans are roasted to enhance their flavour. The beans also have pores. A freezer may contain other foods which have odours. The other frozen foods' odours can be absorbed by the coffee beans. Flavoured coffees can be pleasant, but no one wants to drink seafood or garlic flavoured coffee.
Coffee beans can also absorb moisture. Moisture can cause deterioration and loss of flavour. Every time you take your coffee out of the freezer and pop it back in, the beans absorb moisture. If you have no other choice but to freeze your coffee, then make sure you do it only once. Taking it in and out of the freezer many times will not give you good coffee.
Freezing also breaks down the oils in the beans. The oil imparts flavour, too. When the oils are broken down, then the beans lose flavour, and what's coffee without flavour.
When it comes down to it, freezing is not the best way to store your coffee. Keep coffee stored in a cool, dry, airtight container away from light. Freezing coffee once is possible. The resulting loss of flavour and quality from repetitive freezing makes it a method of storage to stay away from. Ideally, buy your coffee in amounts that's just right for about 1 or 2 weeks. Fresh coffee is the best!
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